62 DADANT SYSTEM OF BEEKEEPING 



whether we wish to make much or little increase from the colonies 

 at hand. It also depends upon the question of whether we 

 expect to secure honey from our bees during that crop. If we do, 

 then we divide the lesser colonies into small nuclei, keeping all 

 our best colonies for honey production. We ascertained that 

 middling strong colonies, which may not be ready for the harvest 

 in time, are much more economical for the making of increase, 

 than powerful ones, as many of their bees will be reared "ow 

 the crop" instead of "for the crop." 



The reader remembers that we make these divisions on the 

 ninth day after making our colony queenless. This is because 

 the young queens, ordinarily, begin to hatch towards the end 

 of the 10th day and we must insert a queen-cell in each of those 

 artificial swarms before the end of the tenth day. If we inserted 

 the queen-cells at once, on the ninth day, or waited till the tenth 

 day to make our divisions, many of those cells would be destroyed 

 by swarms that would not have yet ascertained their queen- 

 lessness. But on the tenth day, or about 24 hours after making 

 the divisions, our small swarms are brought from the confine- 

 ment where they were placed and a queen-cell inserted in each, 

 in the middle of the brood combs, in the warmest spot. The 

 young queen hatches promptly, sometimes the same evening, 

 usually within 3 or 4 days, and in another week will be fertil- 

 ized and laying. 



When we make divisions, if we moved the queenless part 

 to a vacant spot and released the bees at once, many would 

 go back to the mother hive or, if too young, might join some 

 queenright colonies; for a new home without a queen, has 

 little attraction for them. Dr. Miller and many others advise 

 leaving the swarm thus made in the apiary, closing its entrance 

 with a bunch of grass. 



As we have had several colonies smothered when following 

 this method, we prefer to remove the hives to the cellar over- 

 night. This experience in the smothering of colonies is probably 

 due to the heat of the climate in this locality. By morning, when 

 we remove them to a new spot and insert a queen-cell we have 

 no trouble and the bees seem sufficientlv reconciled to the condi- 



